Dec 7 2016
GMV Minerals Inc. (the "Company" or "GMV") (TSX VENTURE:GMV) is pleased to announce that it has discovered new drill targets within the central portion of its Arizona property. A new target, known as the Hernandez Hill, is located approximately 500 meters northeast of the existing Mexican Hat gold resource and is defined by geology and soil geochemistry. Currently, GMV is conducting a fourteen hole drill program to expand the known inferred mineral resource of 23,452,000 tonnes hosting 531,400 troy ounces of gold.
Based on soil geochemistry and recent mapping, it is believed that the Hernandez Hill target may be the top of an epithermal precious metal deposit. The distribution of anomalous pathfinder elements is characteristic of the upper levels of gold and silver bearing epithermal systems that are common in the Basin and Range of the southwestern US. This is a new deposit style at Mexican Hat and represents a strong and compelling drill target. Drill permits for the Hernandez Hill area have now been submitted. The Company is excited about this new discovery, and intends to drill the target in January 2017 using a diamond drill rig.
This target has been identified as a result of a comprehensive soil geochemistry sampling survey designed to test areas covered with quaternary sand deposits outboard from Mexican Hat hill, all of which have some component of colluvial and alluvial material. In general, the eastern margins of the Mexican Hat deposit are well defined, with fluvial and alluvial dispersion of most elements persisting for kilometers to the limits of the survey to the east. An unexpected and coincident mercury, antimony, and arsenic anomaly with anomalous gold values was identified at the northeastern portion of our survey.
The anomalous area contains two topographic highs that constrain the derivation of these soils and which include areas of outcrop exposure, which is otherwise rare away from Mexican Hat hill itself. The topographic highs are underlain by a well fractured andesite that is silicified with chalcedony and opaline quartz. The andesite is overlain by a fiamme-bearing rhyolite ash tuff that is micro-fractured and silicified. Carbonate, which is ubiquitous at Mexican Hat is noticeably rare within this silicified zone. Overall, the silicified rocks cover an area >600 meters long, open to the northeast and at least 500 meters wide. Quaternary cover limits estimates of the total extent of this anomaly to the north and east. The soil sampling program is being expanded to the north to provide better coverage of this target and a lithogeochemical program of the silicified region will be completed in the next two weeks.
Ian Klassen, GMV's CEO stated, "We're quite surprised by this discovery. The combination of a strong pathfinder geochemical signature, including gold, and a broad area of silicification and alteration is a classic epithermal target. Areas of chalcedonic and opaline quartz and silica flooding are commonly found near the top of epithermal systems that my contain economic concentrations of gold and silver. There is no record of this area of the Mexican Hat property receiving meaningful exploration in the past. This is the sort of target that would have been drilled decades ago had it been found in one of Nevada's or Arizona's better known gold belts. Management views this as a potentially game-changing target and we've submitted permits so we can drill test it as soon as possible using a core rig. This testing is in addition to the ongoing reverse circulation drill program that is ongoing to expand the current Mexican Hat resource."
The soil geochemical survey was completed in November and encompassed a total of 663 samples that were collected from 19 lines spaced 100 meters apart east of the known mineralization. QA/QC included the insertion of 78 certified standards and blanks, all under the supervision of Brian Malahoff, P.Geol. Samples were collected in industry standard methods, were dried at 60° C, sieved up to 100 g to -180 microns (80 mesh) up to 1 kg samples (Analytical Code: SS80). The samples were analyzed by an ultra-trace analysis, aqua regia digestion with ICP-MS finish for 37 element package (Analytical Code: AQ250). The Company has posted the soil results on its new website at www.gmvminerals.com/projects/mexican-hat/maps-sections/.
Dr. D.R. Webb, B.A.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., P.Geo. and Brian Malahoff, P. Geol are joint Q.P.s for this release within the meaning of NI 43-101. Both have reviewed the technical content of this release and have approved its content.